This invention relates to a connector to be connected to a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) or the like.
A connector of the type is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. H9-97655. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector will be described.
The connector depicted at 21 in the figures comprises a number of first contacts 23 held by a housing 22 and arranged adjacent to and in parallel to one another at a predetermined pitch to form a single row in a direction perpendicular to a drawing sheet. Similarly, a number of second contacts 24 are held by the housing 22 and arranged adjacent to and in parallel to one another at a predetermined pitch to form a single row in the direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet. The connector 21 also comprises an actuator 25 held by the housing 22 to be rotatable in a range of 90 degrees. FIG. 1 shows the actuator 25 in an opened position. FIG. 2 shows the actuator 25 in a closed position.
Each of the first contacts 23 has a pivot portion 23a elastically deformable, a contacting portion 23b faced to the pivot portion 23a, a connecting portion 23c connected to the pivot portion 23a and the contacting portion 23b, a fixing portion 23d connected to the connecting portion 23c and fixed to the housing 22, and a terminal portion 23e connected to the connecting portion 23c. The pivot portion 23a and the contacting portion 23b extend from the connecting portion 23c as two branched parts. The pivot portion 23a has an engaging recess 23a1 formed near its end to be engaged with a cam 25a at an end of the actuator 25. The contacting portion 23b has a contact point 23b1 formed near its end to be connected to a FPC 31. The actuator 25 has a recess 25b formed near the cam 25a at its end. FIG. 1 shows a state where the FPC 31 is inserted into the connector 21 and the actuator 25 is in the opened position.
The actuator 25 is rotated counterclockwise by 90 degrees from the opened position in FIG. 1 into the closed position in FIG. 2. In this event, the cam 25a pushes the pivot portion 23a upward so that the contact point 23b1 of the contacting portion 23b presses the FPC 31 in the direction depicted by the arrow. As a consequence, the housing 22 in contact with the FPC 31 is applied with a stress.
Another connector of the type is disclosed also in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2001-76794.
In recent years, a connector is desired to have a low profile as one factor of a small size. However, if a housing (insulator) is reduced in thickness in order to achieve the low profile of the connector, a part of the insulator which is applied with a stress is easily deformable. This results in a disadvantage that connection between a contact of the connector and a connection object such as a FPC becomes unstable.